Demise
by aquamist
Summary: In the end... A single wish and death were enough to bring him back.


Two against one was not a very noble demise... but then again, Orochimaru was not known for being noble.  
  
He was known for doing sick experiments on captive shinobi, and also a sick affiliation with snakes.  
  
He was also known for an unhealthy obsession with destroying Konohagakure, which brought him into his present situation of being face-to-face with the other two sannin.  
  
No, two against one was not a very noble demise. And so, with his last breath, Orochimaru cursed Jiraiya and Tsunade, who had foiled him yet again. He cursed Kabuto, who admitted defeat and was currently fleeing Konoha into the woods along with all of his other "faithful" sound-nins. He cursed Sasuke, whose beautiful body he had been planning to take over once he had defeated Konoha, and now he would never get the chance.  
  
And finally, Orochimaru cursed Sarutobi-sensei, who he just knew was laughing at him from wherever he was watching the entire scene.  
  
And with that, he died.  
  
----------  
  
Naruto moved swiftly through the trees outside the gates of Konoha. In his line of vision he spotted at least four or five sound-nin ahead of him, and yet he didn't confront them, and in some instances, he passed right by them.  
  
They weren't his target, and Naruto figured that many of the other Konoha ninjas would be able to handle them without his help. Already he sensed an Anbu member slightly behind him, but in his present haste he didn't even notice that the Anbu was passing by the sound-nins just as he was, as though they had the same target.  
  
That target... was Uchiha Sasuke.  
  
Naruto had developed a very keen sixth sense that warned him of Sasuke's presense, which was probably brought on by the numerous encounters they had had over the course of the five years that they had been sworn enemies. Right now, Naruto's sixth sense was telling him that Sasuke, like the rest of the Sound-nins, was trying to high-tail it out of Konoha as fast as possible.  
  
He wouldn't let that happen. This time, Sasuke would not run away.  
  
_No matter what, I will keep my promise to Sakura-chan..._  
  
----------  
  
The Anbu captain, his white cloak blowing wildly as he hopped from branch to branch, finally came to a stop directly in front of a group of Sound- nins.  
  
"Going somewhere?" he drawled. The Sound ninjas came to halt.  
  
One smiled, and just as suddenly as he figured out he was in trouble, a rain of kunai shot at him from all directions.  
  
He moved as quickly as possible to dodge, but not well enough as one kunai nicked his mask. Shikamaru swore as his mask split, and then crumbled, revealing his bored features. He sighed heavily. _How troublesome..._  
  
----------  
  
"SASUKE!!!"  
  
It had been years since Naruto had said that name. As the syllables rolled off his tongue, he was reminded of the past five years, where just hearing the name of Uchiha Sasuke would cause his eyes to redden, his whiskers to become more prominent, and his whole manner would become so instantly dangerous that Hinata would be overcome with fear. She hated seeing him in any other mood but excessively cheerful.  
  
The figure ahead of him stiffened slightly, and then came to a stop. Naruto did likewise, balancing easily on a branch as a gust of wind swept over the both of them.  
  
Though his back was turned, there was no mistake that this was Sasuke. His manner, his hair, his chakra... everything was the same as it had been that day five years ago, when Sasuke had walked away from him, Konoha... and her.  
  
It was then, after being so lost in his thoughts and the painful memories of the past, that Naruto noticed the Anbu member land on a tree branch opposite him, so that they both faced Sasuke's back. He looked at the Anbu member, black cloak rustling in the wind, and his impatience was more than enough to make him annoyed of the other shinobi.  
  
"Oi," he called over to the Anbu, "this guy's mine. There are loads of others from the Sound that you can get."  
  
The Anbu stared at him momentarily- the unemotional wolf mask giving away nothing- and then at Sasuke's back before jumping away, presumably to look for other Sound-nins. Naruto turned his attention back to Sasuke.  
  
"You hear that?! This is where we end it all!"  
  
Sasuke turned slowly to face him.  
  
"Dobe."  
  
He knew that would tick Naruto off. And he was right. Naruto brought out his hand, palm up, and the swirling of chakra that would become a Rasengan began to form. Sasuke smirked.  
  
"This is it then, dobe? Is this where you want it to end? And I thought you wanted to be Hokage someday."  
  
Naruto growled. "This has been coming for five years now, Sasuke... since the day you threw away everything to join Orochimaru!"  
  
_"I've been awake all this time... from a dream by my former self... who dreamt of a future with comrades drunk with the assurance of peace. That's why I left the village. That's why I desired power!"  
  
"Please... the wish of my lifetime... Please bring Sasuke-kun back."_  
  
"I promised Sakura-chan I would bring you back!" Naruto shouted across the length of trees. His hand clenched the wrist of the other that swirled with the Rasengan, and his voice lowered, sounding hollow. "Even if I have to bring your dead carcass back... I will keep my promise to her!!"  
  
"Tch. So that's it then? A promise is what has been driving you?" Sasuke smirked. "No wonder you can never surpass me."  
  
Naruto gripped his wrist harder. "Bring it! I'll show you that all you've believed these five years has been wrong!!"  
  
Sasuke eyed his old teammate. It was true- the amount of chakra in his Rasengan seemed incredible. But Naruto was Naruto, and that much power had to have a flaw in the hands of a dead-last like him. Sasuke's own chakra began to rise, immediately followed by the sound of a thousand birds...  
  
_This is it_, they both thought as they steadied themselves, armed with their greatest weapons.  
  
_The test of our greatest power._  
  
_Whose ideals are right?_  
  
_This last fight... the survivor of it... will determine it all._  
  
With that, two former rivals- two former comrades- each launched themselves off of their tree branches towards the other.  
  
The Anbu member from before appeared in a puff of smoke on the ground between them, directly in both their lines of fire.  
  
Naruto swore violently. Did he want to get killed?!  
  
Sasuke looked at the Anbu disinterestedly. Konoha's ninjas weren't very smart, were they?  
  
The Anbu stared up at both of them as they charged downward.  
  
In the split second before they made contact, she threw off her Anbu mask and black cloak.  
  
Her soft pink hair swayed from the wind and the chakra in the air.  
  
Her bright green eyes held a determination unrivaled throughout the world.  
  
She watched as the two most important people in her life came crashing down at her.  
  
This time... Kakashi-sensei would not be there to intercept them.  
  
----------  
  
Author's Note: Okay then... so this is my first (probably my only) attempt at a fanfic, because this has been stuck in my head for a loooong time. Hope you like it. And by the way... there is slight (if not blatant) sasusaku in this, and probably also naruhina and shikaino. Just to warn you if you're not into those kinds of things.   
  
Disclaimer: Naruto and all of it's characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto. 


End file.
